PahoaHI
A town of 1,361, settled in 1903.
Is Pahoa a good place to live?
Pahoa’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 35% of residents live below the poverty line in Pahoa, where Hawaii’s towns sit at 9.7% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 4 of Hawaii’s 125 towns score higher on cost of living. The median household income is $56K, and 35% of residents live below the poverty line. Pahoa’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both Hawaii’s towns (0.6) and U.S. towns (0.4). Pahoa has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Pahoa stand out
Where Pahoa beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jobs vs. working residents
Typical home value
1,361 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Pahoa grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Hawaii), ordered by how far Pahoa is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Pahoa: who provides what
Pahoa is unincorporated, so Hawaii County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Pahoa.
The typical home in Pahoa: about $289K
For households in Pahoa, the share who own their home is 78%.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The schools Pahoa’s kids attend
The Hawaii Department of Education school district runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Pahoa High & Intermediate School, with 745 students. Two of the 3 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pahoa Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 402 | D |
| Pahoa High & Intermediate SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 745 | C |
NCES · EDFacts
With 5.8 jobs for every working resident, Pahoa draws in 642 commuters
The share of working residents in Pahoa who work locally: 11%. Since 2013, Pahoa has added 337 jobs, to 654 in 2023. The top destinations are Hilo (29%), Urban Honolulu (18%) and Wailuku (3%). Half of commuters travel less than 26 miles.
| Pahoa | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 3.7% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Top of a very high hazard risk in Pahoa: earthquakes
Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 100% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in Pahoa, 61% come from earthquakes and 25% from inland flooding. Federal aid has come to Pahoa households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2026.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Pahoa stands out in Hawaii and nationally, with more of its adults who worry about having enough food
8.9% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Pahoa. No town among the 94 in Hawaii we compare has a higher share of adults who have diabetes than Pahoa. On the CDC’s 32 measures, Pahoa is ahead of Hawaii on 1 and behind on 24. Only 2 of the 94 Hawaii towns we compare have a higher share of adults who say their health is fair or poor than Pahoa.
| Pahoa | Hawaii towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 12% | 12% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 18% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 18% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Pahoa | HI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 14.6% | 17.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 12.8% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Kīlauea and 12 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pahoa. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi MountainKīlauea
12 mi National ParkHawai'i Volcanoes National Park1.9M visitors a year
6 mi CaveKazumura Cave
19 mi WaterfallRainbow Falls
28 mi State parkAkaka Falls State Park
18 mi GardenLiliuokalani Park and GardensPhoto credits
Kīlauea: Hawaii Land Cover Analysis project, NOAA Coastal Services Center, Public domain · Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park: Jos-uit-boston at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kazumura Cave: Dave Bunnell / Under Earth Images, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rainbow Falls: Kyle Hawton, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Akaka Falls State Park: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews, Canada, CC BY 2.0 · Liliuokalani Park and Gardens: AlaskaDave, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Pahoa
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Pahoa; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Pahoa residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Hawaii.
Every workday, about 642 people come to Pahoa for work
Where Pahoa’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Famous people from Pahoa
4 notable people were born in Pahoa.
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About Pahoa
Census-designated place in Hawaii, United States
Pāhoa is a census-designated place (CDP) in the District of Puna in Hawai‘i County, Hawai‘i, United States. The population was 924 at the 2020 census. The population dropped by 1.8% from 945 in the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 655 ft
- ZIP code
- 96778
- Area code
- 808
Questions about Pahoa
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Pahoa, HI expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
What is Pahoa, HI known for?
4 notable people were born here, including Nelson Doi and James Kealoha.